Sharks, Shoes & Selina

As any fashion admirer will know, Christian Louboutin is the Adonis of sumptuous, sexy and sensuous soles. For me, my adoration of fashion is not contained to just Cheltenham Fashion Week. Thursday was my birthday and the Christian Louboutin exhibition at The Design Museum was coming to an end, so what better excuse for a trip to London. With a Louboutin creation costing the indulger anywhere from £500, my visit was aspirational I must admit, although a girl can dream…

If unlike me you haven’t absorbed every inch of information about Christian Louboutin, to give you an idea of where his design ideas come from, Louboutin had three sisters. The iconic Parisian shoe designer tailored his craft designing shoes for the dancers of the Folies Bergère in Paris, progressing to work at top French fashion houses such as Yves Saint Lauren and Chanel. Today, any A-List event attended by the likes of Lady Gaga, Joan Collins and Sarah Jessica-Parker would be incomplete without the flash of an iconic Christian Louboutin red sole.    

Celebrating a 20 year career of thinking outside the (shoe) box, The Design Museum exhibition explored all corners of Louboutin’s career.

Passing the red neon Entrée lights and ducking under the arched entrance we stepped into a cave of creation and were immersed in a designer footwear nirvana! Bejewelled with black walls, red velvet curtains and theatrical lighting, the surroundings where quintessentially Louboutin.

Focal points of the exhibition included a mind blowing life-size hologram show of burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese. A hologram so real it was easy to believe it was truly her. Also, hidden behind thick black velvet curtains and displayed under bell jars, Louboutin's 2007 Fetish collection could be found. This area was easily bypassed yet a must see for the inquisitive and open minded among us. Outrageous like the rest of Louboutin’s collection, but is anything less to be expected!?

The exhibition cleverly avoided looking like a conventional shoe shop by displaying the shoes in inventive ways; from suspending them from hula-hoops and reflecting shoes into mirrors, to presenting shoes on a rotating fairground carousels and placed on podiums in an Alice & Wonderland fashion.

During my time in London, I also visited the Damien Hirst collection exhibiting at Tate Modern. I have always been intrigued by the controversial character of Damien Hirst. Like Louboutin the exhibition did not disappoint, but truthfully how could a life sized Great White Shark in Formaldehyde, a room in which one is surrounded by live butterflies and lifetimes collection of cigarette butts in a giant ash tray disappoint! The exhibition remains at Tate Modern until the 9th September, so if you find yourself on a rainy afternoon in London, love him or hate him, it really is a must.

After all that London influence, tomorrow will see the first event of Cheltenham Fashion Week, and our very own piece of the capital comes to the Cotswolds in the form of Selina Blow.  The top fashion designer will be hosting an intimate audience at the exclusive pink cinema at Barnsley House. We are all looking forward to hearing her talk about her passion for colour, textiles and design. This event will give a sneak insight into what is yet to come from Cheltenham Fashion Week. With just four tickets left this really will be the hottest ticket in town!!

Ellie xxx